Hawaiian Portabello Burgers

Caps of mushrooms, they’re the heroes, going to take pollution down to zero!

I hope you all watched “Captain Planet” as a kiddo like I did, otherwise you are probably thinking “What the what? That’s a bizarre opening line!” Regardless, the sentiment of that epic child-hood cartoon theme song rings true– animal agriculture is more damaging to the planet than car emissions! So whether you’ve gone whole (adorable) hog like us and gone vegan, or not, enjoy these DE-LICI-OUS, eco-friendly burgers and high-five Mother Nature!

Before I became a vegan, when I was still living in California, I used to really love eating at a restaurant called Islands. I always ordered the same thing, an island-inspired chicken burger called a “Tucan.” This is my greened-up version of an old favorite and I’m telling you– they turned out SOOOOOO good!! (Especially along side some sweet potato fries). I even impressed my paleo parents with them! Cue the applause!

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place cleaned portabello mushrooms smooth side facing down in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade and pour mixture onto each mushroom. Use a basting brush to pull the sauce to the edges of the mushrooms. Put in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the mushrooms release their juices.
3. While the mushrooms are cooking, slice the pineapple into rings and cut out the core. Grill them or “indoor grill” them, using a cast iron grill on an open range stove. Flip them when the grill marks appear on the underside of the pineapple. Remove when both sides have grill marks. Set aside.
4. Slice the red onion and mash the avocado.
5. Mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce.
6. When the mushrooms are done, assemble the burgers by laying a mushroom on a leaf of lettuce, top with a slice or two of pineapple, red onion and a dollop of smashed avocado. Drizzle the sauce on top and use the lettuce to wrap up the burger.